Spain vs Austria live updates: Yamal set to start World Cup knockout clash today

In their first World Cup appearance since 1998, Austria started the tournament with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Jordan.

In their next outing, they were on the brutal end of the Lionel Messi treatment, with the superstar playmaker netting a brace to become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history and earn Argentina a 2-0 win.

Austria’s destiny boiled down to their final Group J match against Algeria. Fast forward to the 93rd minute and the North African nation were leading 3-2 thanks to Riyad Mahrez’s double — his second coming in the third minute of added time.

At that point, Austria were heading out. Then Sasa Kalajdzic’s 96th-minute header rescued a 3-3 draw for Ralf Rangnick’s side, sending them into the round of 32 as one of the best third-place teams